DélUtán (AfterNoon) Foundation, which is independent from any religions or political parties, is the only telephone helpline in Europe dedicated solely to provide help to elderly people. In our era elderly people are getting more and more isolated in everyday life. They find it difficult to come to terms with the passing of the years, the loss of personal relationships, loneliness, illness and the idea of approaching death. Many elderly people suffer from retirement and the psychological and physical burdens of inactivity, the feeling of uselessness.  In a crisis situation old people are often left to their own resources, with nobody to call on if they feel exposed or have suicidal impulses. To be able to make anonymous calls to the centre means that the older people in need can freely express their thoughts, bad feelings or doubts which have often been hidden even from themselves. They do not have to face the listener whose body language may imply to them criticism or judgment. They can enjoy the benefits of supportive listening, shared thoughts, empathy and confidentiality.

           In traditional societies elderly people have a role: the community relies on their life experience and wisdom. In the modern world, however, this age group is often a burden, and beyond their physical existence there is no concern for their inner health. DélUtán Foundation helps preserve the mental health of a group, which is not dealt with properly by other social, civil or governmental organizations.

            From 1998 DélUtán helpline can be called from everywhere in Hungary seven days a week from 18.00 to 21.00 anonymously and free of charge (our telephone number is 0680 200 866). Calls are received by 30 trained counsellors who do this stressful work - just like the leaders of the foundation and our other colleagues - on a voluntary basis, without remuneration. Our foundation does not receive any governmental support. We maintain it from grants and donations. Our supporters can make sure that their donations get to the right place if they click on the word Donation on the first page of our website (www.delutan.hu).

            Apart from supportive conversations, we provide counselling on legal and medical matters and advice on patients' rights. Our legal and psychological service has recently been expanded to provide personal counselling as well. The Mediation Bureau helps to solve conflicts in the family and between couples or neighbours.

            In 2008 we started a beginners' computer course for the middle-aged and the elderly free of charge. These courses proved to be an incredible success.

            We have organized DélUtán Clubs in different parts of the capital where people can meet, play games, talk and have the possibility to make new friends. The Clubs are not only for the elderly, we would be happy to have young people and even children there.
In 2010 we are going to extend our supportive services for the elderly into other countries of Europe, first into the neighbouring countries, later hopefully further. We are able to do this, as many of our volunteers speak foreign languages well. We have already found partners in Romania, Serbia and Slovakia, and with the help of our partners we make it possible for the elderly in their countries to use our telephone service. In the future, based on our activities as a model of good practice, we will offer all our theoretical and practical experiences to those who need them to organize a similar service in their country.

            On the basis of the common European values, together with our partners we would like to develop further the good practice that proved successful in our country. If we can realize our plans, a network of telephone helplines for the elderly can be developed in Central and Eastern Europe, and maybe even farther.

            All this is extremely necessary. We know it from our own experience how important the telephone helpline is for this age group, regardless which country they live in. The burdens on the elderly - loneliness, illness, poverty, defencelessness, the loss of their loved ones, the fear of further deterioration of the quality of their lives, the idea of approaching death - do not depend on where they live or on the economic situation of any given country. These ideas give us strength when receiving the calls and inspire us to work on the development of this service.